Don't be so hard on people doing the J1 route. If training in Europe wasn't so prohibitively expensive, more people would stay in Europe and train.
Quite right. I spent months researching my options, and it's a shame, but travelling across the world to do it is my best option, if only because with the money I save I can afford a JAA IR course back in Blighty afterwards.
For those of us that want to go the integrated route, (I'm not young enough to spend time washing helicopters for pennies), all the schools in the UK operate pretty much the same as HAI. i.e. They are primarily schools, and exposure to the cynical old buggers that spout stories "lathered in bull****" in the coffee bars is minor. Plus, what with the cost of the training, I'd be begging in order to pay for that much coffee.
I've spoken to several CFI's at UK training schools. Even the ones trying to get me to sign on with them have a respect for HAI's quality and many have recruited their graduates themselves.
By it's very nature the industry has changed to accomodate integrated courses. So many people take that route, and (against all odds apparently..) go on to successful careers. Are all these negative attitudes simply a matter of "if it's not as difficult for you as it was for me, then it's not good enough"?
Everybody acepts that ideally training would be done by squillion hour veterans who can keep their students amused with stories of barnstorming in the 1920's, but it's just not a reality, anywhere. HAI, CabAir, OAT, UK, US, wherever, students are very likely to get taught by an instructor little more than a year further into their careers themselves. So really, what's the difference if I decide to put my $60k+ into an American organisation rather than a British one?
Regards,
Si